KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 20 — The headcount at evacuation shelters in Selangor continued to rise today even as floodwaters recede from inundated roads.

Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari announced on Twitter that 32,044 displaced people have been placed at 162 temporary shelters in nine districts statewide as at 10am.

He added that the district of Klang had the most number of people forced to leave their homes, coming in at 18,858.

Heavy rain and floods since last Friday have wreaked havoc on several states in peninsular Malaysia, causing thousands to be stranded on washed out roads, and trapping others in their homes.

Malaysians have been taking to social media platforms asking for help to locate their uncontactable family, friends, and loved ones as floodwaters impede rescue and communications with handphones running out of battery power.

The Covid-19 pandemic, which still chalks four digit new cases daily in the country, are also a major cause for concern for public health officials, especially as the easily transmissible variant Omicron has been detected in Malaysia.